Out of Memory and Time
by Iced Perfection
Summary: A girl is forced to face her paranoia to find what she existed as in the past. When she has to choose sides, though, will she side with the dark or the light...or can she walk the twilight between? ChaseOC, rated for language. Full summary inside.
1. uncertain memories

Notes: So it's a first writing a Xiaolin Showdown story, but I think I can manage it…I think. / If I do screw up too badly, please tell me!! I do appreciate reviews, comments, criticisms, etc, but please no flames. They make me sad. ):

_Icy_

PS: Pairings, yes, I'm not sure on all of them but there is definite ChaseOC. And no, it's not devolving into a Mary-Sue-esque story since I hold my writing in very high standards (esp. at school) and know enough to avoid that kind of thing. And there is no "omg i luv you lets sex." I go into detail, but love isn't all about sex.

And that's where I'll end my mini-lecture for the day...

* * *

_**Summary**_: "I can hear you." She's always dreamed of being something more, but when offered the chance to take part in adventure it's more than she can handle. The once-normal college student will be faced with choices she will find difficult to make, though will be able to find clues to her past along the way, leading her to the answers of who she was - and why the others know so much more than she does about herself. But when she is finally faced with the choice between the light and the dark (not good and evil, but the things themselves), how will she be able to choose? Or...is there a way to walk the path between, the path of the twilight? ChaseOC, rated for language.

* * *

DATE: 10-8-07

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE: uncertain memories**

* * *

_A person is being deprived of all of their light_

_And sepia colored memories that were imprinted on my eyelids_

_Are now on the other side of the soft light..._

_Both paradise and the earth's memory vanish_

_Like a lost child bearing atonements, I don't even know where I'm going_

* * *

A city—black, illuminated only by the glowing neon signs on the numerous skyscrapers lining the streets. What would have been a perfect summer night was ruined by the rain, lightning flashing occasionally, a white-purple glow filling the sky, a rumble of thunder following soon after. It was not a heavy rain, but the slight chill and thick fog made it so everyone preferred to stay inside. 

The streets were empty, stores closed for the night, refusing to open again until the sun broke through the clouds over the horizon. Even the moon was hiding from the storm, seeking refuge behind the grey clouds.

Footsteps sounded across the hard pavement of the road, splashing in the shallow puddles that were scattered on the concrete. Rain dripped from her hair, droplets forming rivers that streamed down her face and off her chin.

Above her towered the tallest skyscraper in the city, boasting nearly twice as many stories as any other in the area. The largest electronic screen also hung from it, furthering its intimidating form. It was framed with green neon lights, flickering every once in a while in sync with the inconsistent power source flowing from the factories in the valley. At that moment she wished she was back in the valley, back where the sea met the land, where she was free to wander the grassy plains and sandy dunes. But she was here now, here in the city. And she didn't know why.

Standing on the edge of the tower—would he fall?—was a man, tall, dark, half-cloaked in a darkness that prevented her from seeing his face clearly.

"_Who are you?"_ she said, voice echoing in the deserted city. It reached his ears, traveling through the city quickly and reverberating off the buildings and back into her own ears as well.

"_You know who I am. We've met before."_ He was evading her question, carefully wording his sentences to answer her question while at the same time not.

The girl shook her head fiercely, a shower of rain coming from the water collected on her hair. _"You lie. We have never met before this. I ask you once more: Who are you?"_ She crossed her right arm over her torso, a bow—metal, machinelike, not bamboo as per tradition—formed in her grip, materializing quickly as she drew back the steel string, an arrow, also metal, appearing and locking itself in place. _"You have one chance."_

The man smirked, further angering her. _"I told you. You know me. Look inside your mind—and your heart—to find the answers to your question. Look inside yourself before you go and demand answers from others."_

That voice—it sparked something, though was quickly lost to the confusion swirling in her mind. She hesitated, bow lowering slightly.

He was suddenly falling—diving down the side of the building, the darkness protecting him, surrounding him, cloaking him in the blackness that blocked her sight.

At the base of the skyscraper he landed gently on his feet, not at all fazed by his own actions. He advanced toward her. Pairs of glowing yellow eyes began appearing on the ground, shadowy forms of animals emerging from the concrete, seemingly by magic.

"_You're coming with me…or you fight until you're dead." _He snapped his fingers, the creatures suddenly leaping onto her. She gave a cry of fright and loosed her arrow, the metal piercing two—three—four—creatures at once, a chain of round links trailing behind it, piercing all that were in its way. It continued to fly straight ahead, though circled back around when she tugged on the end of the chain, calling it back with her mind. It returned to her, cutting through yet another set of shadows before falling back into place on the bow, allowing her to reload and fire another shot in a different direction.

"_I do not wish to come with you."_ She suddenly found her own bow aimed at his head, infuriated by his enduring smirk on his face. _"I gave you your chance."_ And he was gone.

Gone, disappeared into nothing. She spun around, arrow still locked into position, ready for anything. But he was nowhere. Everywhere she looked, she only found empty streets. Even when she glanced upward to the skyscraper where he had been minutes before she saw nothing. He had vanished without a trace.

_Just like last time._

She shook her head. Where had that thought come from? _"It's that voice again," _she murmured to herself. It was invading her mind, just like it had been for the past month, around the time she had noticed the change.

A sound from behind her startled her back to reality, causing her to spin around and aim her bow, but the shadows closed in on her—


	2. 4th

Notes: I'm actually interested in how this turns out. Not too sure about the ending quite yet but will have that figured out shortly. I don't think the chapter titles will make much sense at the moment but I will explain them sooner or later.

LOL, yay for super-long chapters that are four times the length of the first. 8D;;;

Comments, reviews, critiques GREATLY appreciated. Flames, not so much. They make me sad. ):

_Icy_

* * *

_**Summary**_: "I can hear you." She's always dreamed of being something more, but when offered the chance to take part in adventure it's more than she can handle. The once-normal college student will be faced with choices she will find difficult to make, though will be able to find clues to her past along the way, leading her to the answers of who she was - and why the others know so much more than she does about herself. But when she is finally faced with the choice between the light and the dark (not good and evil, but the things themselves), how will she be able to choose? Or...is there a way to walk the path between, the path of the twilight? ChaseOC, rated for language.

* * *

DATE: 10-10-07

* * *

**CHAPTER TWO: 4th...**

* * *

_dazzling..._

_the earth is being destroyed_

_proof of the one asking for freedom_

_darkness..._

_memory..._

_nothing exists_

_it exists here_

_footprints_

_the familiar scenery_

_whose is it?_

_not mine_

_cold look..._

_words that resound in my heart_

_silence_

_pierced into my chest_

_I wanted to exist like you_

* * *

It was light—I was awake again, though didn't really want to. Music was blasting in my ears, making me wonder how I'd ever fallen asleep in the first place. 

I wanted to remain in my dreams and hung on to that last bit of fantasy in my mind before I was truly awake. I suddenly bolted upright—remembering I wanted to get up early for a change—hitting my head on the ceiling above me.

"God_dammit_," I muttered, rubbing my head. I still hadn't gotten used to the fact that the top bunks in the dorms were so close to the ceiling above. It gave the person on the bottom plenty of room, but on the top, you'd better hope you were either short or just kinda rolled out of bed—otherwise you'd probably hit your head. Like the situation I was currently in. This was the third time this _week_—I'd lost count for the weeks before but knew it was getting to the point of it being ridiculous.

A cough came from below me at the desk that formed a right angle with the lower bunk. It was my roommate—the one who had wanted to (on the first day when we didn't know each other) hang a rather large cross on the wall _right next to my bed_. I wouldn't have minded if it weren't one with Christ hanging from it. That…just kinda scared me. She was a very religious person, always gone by the time I got up on Sundays to go to work, hanging out with the other students at the church where they always spent most of the weekend—particularly Sunday.

"Sorry," I snapped, irritated as I felt a new bruise form under the pulsing skin below my fingers. "_You_ try sleeping up here and waking up to a ceiling three inches away from your face. It's hard _not_ to hit your head, and when you do it's kinda hard not to say something about it." I admit it: I'd always been a sarcastic person. But when I came to college, everything spiraled downward, more toward…cynicism. I'd cursed before, yes, but my vocabulary was increasing by the day by my finding new ways to curse—whether in English or in Spanish, French, Japanese, Chinese: any person I met in my classes that could speak another language I found were more than willing to teach me a few…er…_choice_ words. I smiled. I remembered my first day in my biology lab, my partner, Lyris, from New York but was Japanese and had been there for half her life. She was the first to teach me some words, then my vocabulary expanded when she introduced me to a sorority that was on campus, one that boasted the most diverse female population. I'd wanted to join, but didn't have what it took to be part of one. I wasn't special, or at least I felt I wasn't. Sure, I _was_ Russian, but that didn't set me apart nearly as much as the others.

Actually, I had never really _wanted_ to become so involved with others. I had a social disorder, avoidant personality, that was somewhat serious from what my doctor said, but nothing—therapy, drugs—helped. I didn't want to change, anyway. It had kept me from a perfectly normal life with friends and I was pretty determined to keep it that way. The only reason I had begun talking with the other girls was because they spoke languages I knew, ones I had a bit more confidence in since it wasn't my native tongue. It sounds odd, but it's true. It was hard to form coherent sentences around strangers and people I didn't know so well. Especially males. They were the worst. I couldn't even go shopping alone, feeling everyone was staring at me. Maybe it was more paranoia than anything, but whatever the case it was especially hard looking people in the eye, making me come across as nervous and submissive, when in fact, with confidence, I was one of the most headstrong girls on campus.

Looks-wise I was like a normal American girl—silvery hair that some decided was blonde, and striking green eyes that looked very out-of-place in my home town. Actually, a lot of people asked me if I dyed my hair, which I soon learned was a question I should avoid answering, as well as questions concerning being Asian, a cosplayer, wearing contacts, and the like.

Recently, however, I had been having strange dreams. I'd at first attributed them to my music, with which I had been experimenting with, but over time I began to think otherwise. And it was always the same—taking place in a dark city that was covered in lights that were only lit sometimes. Usually it was at night, though occasionally was in the evening, or, even rarer, the day. I'd never figured out where it was. Nothing I had ever seen even remotely related to that city, so I ruled out my subconscious immediately. Not even movies I'd seen recently were like it. Music…that wasn't it either. Or video games. Or books.

Nothing.

It was something that was putting a bit of stress on my mind, and combined with my concern for grades and sports, I was getting pretty stressed overall. I thought about asking about it but didn't want to come across as some psycho college girl who can't take the workload and just wants to quit. I didn't want to quit. Not now. Not until I figured everything out.

I sighed, pulling my headphones off I swung my legs over the side of the bed frame and jumped down, grabbing my glasses from my desk shortly after, allowing me to see more than a couple feet in front of me. The distance wasn't far between the bed and the floor, and despite the fact there was a ladder I refused to use it.

My roommate, Mackenzie Ayer (otherwise known as Kensie to her friends), didn't take too kindly to the fact that I came tumbling off my bunk every morning during her "prayer time," as she called it. After the first day when we had established our religious and cultural differences she pretty much refused to talk to me, other than the occasional snide remark about my work or question about something that I rarely had the answer to. We were of different worlds, and I think she was the only one unwilling to cooperate during out time together at the dorms.

"I'm gong to head over to the house," I said, throwing on some jeans in the bathroom shared by two others in the room adjacent to ours. "Lock the door if you go out, okay?" I heard silence, hoping that it meant she heard me and just wasn't talking. Just in case, I wrote a kind note (okay, kind for_ me_, since most things I said were sarcastic) on the whiteboard tacked to the back of the hard wooden door before I stepped outside, stepping over the bodies strewn on the floor from the previous night's party. It was the weekend, which meant that parties would go on all Saturday and Sunday (Saturday only for most people who went to church) then crashing and wishing there was more time to do homework and labs before class on Monday.

Downstairs, I nearly ran into someone moving in to the dorms—a latecomer, something that usually wasn't taken too kindly to, since friendships and bids are made at the _beginning_ of the year. I stepped past the boxes lining the side of the lobby and outside into the cool autumn air that promised fall break soon. _Just a few more days_, I said to myself, pulling my knee-length hair back in a low ponytail with a hair tie.

I had actually received a bid for the house that Lyris and Iara were in, though it was a bit late and by then I had realized the true meaning of college: work. Plus, I held a full-time job down at a small restaurant on the main street on campus, which, combined with schoolwork, pretty much consumed most of my time. That, and video games, sports, and drawing. I felt like I never had any free time anymore, weighed down by the fact I was actually a scholarship student and had to exceed my expected grades and activities to keep it. I wanted to earn enough money, however, for my last two years, since it only covered the first ones. But to do this I had to work extra hours at work and take any—and I mean_ any_—extra credit options from my professors (though there weren't too many, and when they were they didn't give much but required _way_ too much effort for that amount of points).

On the brick walkway leading up to the house, my vision inverted suddenly, everything going grey and fuzzy. I clutched my head, dizzy, wishing I hadn't taken so many Aleeve the night before. I steadied myself on the brick wall lining the lawn, concerned for my health since this had never happened—stress, maybe? _If the combined effects of stress from your work, college stuff, and dreams is bad enough it could probably be causing this—_I shook my head. It was _not_ the time to be thinking about psychology lessons from the previous week.

"Are you alright?" Erika, a kind girl with a shock of red hair that betrayed her Irish lineage immediately, came up on the walkway behind me. "You don't look too well."

"I'm…fine," I mumbled, trying to take a step but instead falling flat on my face in the grass. I felt my face burn, my vision inverting and reverting numerous times, the colors reminding me of something described as a side effect of a drug. I readjusted my glasses on my face, hoping they hadn't broken. They hadn't. "So maybe I'm not fine."

Erika helped me up, allowing me to lean on her until we got to the door where Iara was waiting, a concerned look on her face when she saw me.

"What's wrong?" she asked, rushing to get a glass of water after helping me sit on the couch. I suddenly wished I had accepted the invitation to stay there, suddenly feeling all thoughts of a social disorder slip away. Maybe…I wasn't really that problematic. Maybe I was just…shy?

"I don't know," I said, words spilling out of my mouth. "I was coming up here to visit you guys and suddenly everything was grayish, and then colors again, then went back to grey." Iara stared at me for a moment before her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and concern.

"Are you taking any meds?" she asked.

"It might've been the Aleeve I took last night," I admitted. "But I don't think it could be. I didn't exceed the number it tells you on the container."

The Brazilian girl shook her head, silky black hair shaking with it. "That doesn't matter. You shouldn't be taking that many anyway." She sighed. "Let me guess. It was Kensie?" I nodded, sipping on the glass of water she handed me.

"I think it might have something to do with my dreams. I've been having these weird thoughts lately…and it makes me think, are these real, or not?" I looked down at my cup. "I can't tell the difference when I'm dreaming and when I'm not sometimes. I suddenly blushed, realizing how it must have sounded. _They must think I'm crazier than I was when I first met them_, I thought, horrible thoughts of imagined reactions coursing through my mind.

"Have you asked anyone else about this?" Erika asked.

"No," I replied. "I didn't think anyone else could help." I wanted to tell them everything but at the same time wanted everything to disappear so I could go back to the dream and live wherever it was. _There's proof you really are avoidant._ I hit my mental self, angry that my internal voice seemed to have a mind of its own—literally.

A slight rumbling came from outside, soon intensifying to large shockwaves that shook the house.

"An…earthquake?" Iara muttered. "We're not on a fault line…and nowhere near one." She walked over to the window and pulled a green silk curtain aside, looking to see if there was anything that could give her a hint on what had happened.

A large (and I mean_ huge_) creature flew right past the window, startling Iara. She fell back onto the armchair, shaking slightly. "What…what was that?" she whispered, suddenly beginning to murmur words in her native language. Erika went to the door, looking down the street in the direction it had gone in.

I clutched my head, gasping quietly when it began to throb painfully. I was suddenly back in the city—back in the beginning of the dream, knowing exactly how it would play out. The stores were closed again, the light rain falling on my head, unprotected, dripping off in silver rivers. The skyscraper—he was there again, the shadow creatures once more appearing to fight me.

"_Who are you?" _I asked, fed up with him. Never—in all my dreams that had contained him—had he answered my question.

"_You know who I am. We've met before."_

_Well,_ duh._ This is the third time this week I've had this dream!_

And I was suddenly back in reality—shaken again by the waves pulsing through the ground, Iara and Erika nowhere to be seen. I raised my hand to my head—it was my birthmark that was complaining so much about this disturbance, the pair of tan blobs that vaguely resembled wings (so said my friends) reacting rather strangely. They were what usually woke me from the dreams, throbbing intensely, as if they were trying to protect me, trying to prevent my fall into insanity.

Outside, I, looked down the street, wondering where the other girls had gone. Shrugging, I began walking, hoping I would run into them. Maybe they had gone to see what was going on.

At the park, I came to a complete stop, blinking several times to make sure I hadn't somehow drifted back into my dreams again.

In front of me there was a dragon—no, I'm not lying. It was real.

Only thing was, it was tiny.

I giggled. "Who knew dragons could be so small?" I said to myself, laughing, though it evidently heard me, wing-like ears perking up as its head whipped around, glaring at me.

"I may look small, missy, but I can get _really_ angry, you know! And this isn't my real form. I'm about…thirty times as big when I want to be," it said, pointing a tiny clawed hand in my face. I couldn't help but laugh again.

"I'm…I'm sorry," I said, trying to control my voice. I suddenly felt a shiver go down my spine. I clutched my sides, trying to shake it off.

"Are you okay?" There were four young children, all of whom were dressed in strange robes—Chinese, I guessed. Three boys and a girl, an odd combination of ethnicities: one boy was Brazilian (he looked like Iara), another who looked like he'd been born and raised in the South on a farm, the third of possible Asian origin (though was very unclear to me then), and the only girl was clearly Japanese.

I nodded. "I'm fine. Did you just feel the earthquake?" I inquired, wondering if they had anything to do with it.

They all exchanged looks. "I don't think so," the Brazilian boy said.

"We kinda just got here." The Japanese girl spoke, pointing to the dragon. "We flew."

I raised an eyebrow (a quirky habit by my friends), expressing my disbelief. "Sure." I hadn't meant it to come out so snarky and rude, but it did.

"We are looking for something very important," the young boy said, his bald head not at all conspicuous in the middle of the campus. _Sarcasm again? _the voice asked. I disregarded the question.

"Like what?"

The girl opened a rather large scroll (what _were_ they carrying that thing around for?) to a section that contained a set of characters that looked Chinese, an illustration in the middle (animated, too; they had _really_ cool technology we could've used in college) of a man. In his hands he held what looked like a tiara—or circlet—with a set of wings protruding from it. He placed it on his head, a flash of light filling the screen as he was suddenly attacked by strange creatures, all scratching him but the wounds healing quickly.

"The Radial Diadem," the Southern boy said. _The thing has a name._ I raised my eyebrow again.

"I'm sorry. Can't help you," I said. _You're so rude to strangers._

I began to walk away when I felt a breeze stir, the source in the sky. Behind me was a boy with red hair not unlike Erika's shade and eyeliner that rivaled even Kensie's wannabe antics.

"Jack Spicer!" the young boy said, his eyes narrowing. "You will not obtain the Diadem!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm not here to argue. I'm here to just take the Wu and leave." He landed on the stone path in front of me, giving me an odd look. "What're you looking at."

My eyes were the ones narrowing now. "What do you mean, 'What're you looking at?' I'm surrounded by _freaks_," I snapped.

"Ooh, that stung," the redhead said mockingly. Apparently it didn't faze him. I rolled my eyes, turning to leave once again and see if Iara and Erika had come back yet. I suddenly shivered again, frozen to the spot, feeling the same aura as I had in my dreams, the dark air that surrounded the man that followed me everywhere. I felt a connection, a link, touch, then break again as I unwillingly spun in place slowly to face who it was that had been haunting my dreams.

* * *

Cliffhanger. 8D I'll work on the next chapter around homework; don't worry. 


	3. seven

Notes: I hate homework. ;; I love this year, really, but HATE the homework I have to do. I'd rather be playing games and the like.

But I kept my promise: update on Friday night.

Oh, and sorry if it gets weird and/or hard to understand…you can ask me what's going on if you don't know. If I don't know too, I probably need to rewrite it.

Comments, reviews, criticisms appreciated, but flames make me sad. ):

_Icy_

PS: No, the titles aren't random. I'll explain them near the end.

* * *

_**Summary**_: "I can hear you." She's always dreamed of being something more, but when offered the chance to take part in adventure it's more than she can handle. The once-normal college student will be faced with choices she will find difficult to make, though will be able to find clues to her past along the way, leading her to the answers of who she was - and why the others know so much more than she does about herself. But when she is finally faced with the choice between the light and the dark (not good and evil, but the things themselves), how will she be able to choose? Or...is there a way to walk the path between, the path of the twilight? ChaseOC, rated for language.

* * *

DATE: 10-12-07

* * *

**CHAPTER THREE: Seven

* * *

**

_No matter how much I want_

_That figure rising up inside of reality_

_I can't go back_

_The vanished memory that I can't remember is driving me mad again_

_"Unforgettable"—that vanished word revives itself_

_"Who are you...?"_

_While trembling, I hold out my hands slightly_

_I'm scared of the light but I can't sneak out_

_Inside of a mist, I gaze at you_

_I can see your look_

_Even now_

_Your smiling figure that I can't remember... like it's unforgettable_

_Like broken glass, you're screaming now_

_While always inside of me_

"Hold me..."

* * *

"Chase Young!" 

_So he does has a name_. I shook my head, eyes sliding out of focus again as colors inverted once then reverted and stopped, allowing me to see his face clearly, the only part of him I'd never seen in my dreams.

His armor was just as I remembered, though seemed to have more color in real life than it did in my mind. He turned to me, golden eyes glaring into mine. I quickly looked away, feeling the sting of blood rush to my cheeks as my phobia took over.

"I—I—what's going on?" I stammered, wanting so desperately for everything to just be normal again. I was unwilling to accept that this could drag me into some kind of world I'd never known, a world like I'd always imagined as my own but knew reality would always strike down. I was suddenly caught in the middle of one of my fantasies, one where I was just a normal girl that is taken away from her boring life and thrown into a place where things would actually be interesting.

"Who is this?" the man—Chase Young—asked, eyes scanning me with slight disinterest.

"Some girl from the college," the redhead said, shrugging and jabbing his thumb back in the direction of the campus and sorority houses.

The raven-haired man made no reply to this, but the others quickly made up for any lack of words between them.

"You will not get the Diadem, Chase. You gotten to many Wu before but cannot defeat us this time," the short boy said, a tone of confidence edging his voice.

I still had _no_ idea what they were talking about.

"Enough with the talking; the Diadem awaits!" Floating beside the redhead boy was a purple, ghost-like creature that made my eyes widen in surprise rather than fear. I wasn't scared, but more…disbelieving?

"It's the meds," I muttered to myself, clapping a hand to my forehead.

"Why do you say that?" the Southern boy asked.

I shrugged. "I've been having problems with my vision already today. I think my meds are reacting weird with the Aleeve I took last night and I'm hallucinating. Sorry I can't help you." I began to walk away again, but again I was pulled back by some unseen force that tugged at my heart then snapped as quickly as it had formed. It was then my turn to snap. "Just leave me alone, will you?" I shouted, clutching the sides of my head as my glasses slid down the bridge of my nose. "This isn't funny anymore!"

"What're you talking about?" the Asian girl said, giving me a rather strange look.

"You're all messing with my head; as if I wasn't paranoid enough! I'll bet you were set up by Finn from that frat house! Who's paying you?" I demanded, though suddenly lost all confidence in my words as soon as they slipped out. I slapped a hand over my mouth, cheeks flaming. This time, when I turned, I wasn't stopped, running as fast as I could back to the sorority, where I found the door unlocked but Iara and Erika both still gone. I sighed and settled back onto the couch, wishing I had never left the house in the first place.

"Hey, are you feeling any better?" Looking over the edge of the couch I saw Lyris removing her shoes and slipping on a pair of her "house shoes," as she called them, a habit she retained from her time in Japan. I smiled. My Asian lab partner always made me feel better, in ways I never could think about alone, like talking about cute Japanese guys in her class (she still had yearbooks from her high school years there) or shopping in the districts that I wanted to go to so bad, my body shivering from yearning after she finished describing the country.

"I think I'm a little better. Iara and Erika gave me some water but kinda disappeared."

"Yeah, they actually had to go to class. They told me to tell you sorry. After that earthquake Iara thought that it would be hard to get to the building so they left early." She suddenly paused, lips pressed tightly together. "You really don't look too good. You should stay here."

"Maybe it's a concussion," I laughed, joking. "From when I wake up every morning."

But Lyris didn't laugh. "You know, it could actually be a concussion. Didn't you say you had problems with your vision just a little while ago?" I nodded in response, not really wanting to talk all of a sudden. "You might want to go to the doctor's. It might be serious."

"I'm fine," I said firmly, not wanting to go there again. Last time I had gone I'd received two shots, three prescriptions, and a bill for procedures I'd never even heard of before (and with my being a paramedic that was bad). I had wanted to avoid that place as much as possible after that, vowing to go there only in emergencies, and even then I'd take my chances with the larger hospital a few miles away. "Really."

Lyris looked at me with sad, concerned eyes. She was overly concerned about her friends to some, but it did come in handy. The premed student was really in touch with our emotions and health, and if she said we were sick, we were _sick_, no questions asked. In this case…I didn't think it was that serious. _It's the Aleeve,_ I repeated in my mind. _Just the meds and the Aleeve._

"At least stay here a night," she said, pleading slightly. I sighed, flopping back on the couch to signify my submission. She smiled again. "Good. I'll make sure that Jin sets an extra place at the table." She disappeared upstairs, footsteps causing the old wooden floors to squeak softly above me. I stood up and walked over to the front door, slipping on a pair of slippers Iara had said I could use if I was there when it was cold. The stone and wood floors in the house were the parts that were hardest to heat, and were frigid in the late fall and winter.

In the kitchen I heated some water, finding the tea bags immediately, and, though I preferred the kind I bought, used some of Lyris' tea from the Asian market down the road instead. If had known I was going to stay then I would have brought my own. _You'll have to go get your things to stay here, anyway_, I said to myself. I'd bring some over then.

A loud _crash_ came from right outside the door, shaking the whole house. The hot water in the mug I had found leapt out of its confinements, freely splashing onto my arm, scorching the skin on contact. I gave a cry of pain, rushing over to the sink, my mind only on the pain and my need for cold water, totally disregarding the noise that had caused it.

Taking an icepack from the freezer and wrapping it in a towel I placed it gently on my arm, heading toward the door to investigate yet another unusual noise.

_Please don't let it be—_

When I opened the door, I groaned. Through the outer glass door I could see that it was the kids from before—and the guy from my dreams. I leaned against the doorframe, head hitting the wood and making my head throb. _The world seems to love to see me in pain, doesn't it?_

"I'm telling you, it's in there!" That purple ghost-thing was pointing toward the house—and right at me. I quickly slammed the door, locking it and standing with my back to it, breathing heavily. There was _no way_ I was letting _them_ in the house—and especially since I didn't live in it! _Iara and the others will be so pissed when they get back,_ I thought, frantically trying to think of a plausible excuse, one that would actually sound real.

A blow suddenly came from the other side of the door, shattering the glass and throwing me to the ground. Two more and the whole wooden entrance was demolished, destroyed and strewn about the room in thousands of splinters. I pushed myself up on my good arm, twisting around on my stomach to see who had done it—and found myself staring into the eyes of a large robot. My voice caught in my throat as I tried to get up, slipping on the slick wooden floor and finally escaping into the kitchen. There, I saw the door that led down to the basement, where the girls held their parties and meetings most—soundproofed and _very_ safe. I figured that they wouldn't even know to look behind the racks on the wall lined with spices and such. Left over from times of houses with secret passageways the girls of the sorority discovered their house to have one and used it to their advantage—and now it was to be mine.

I pulled gently on the small handle, knowing that force would cause the door to lock. Dashing down the carpeted stairs I fumbled around feeling for a light switch on the wall, praying for light so I could see where I was going. I found one, turning it on and sighing in relief. I leaned against the wall and slid down it, sitting with my legs stretched out in front of me. Above I could hear the strangers tromping around, looking for that…diadem, or whatever. If they wanted it, they could have it.

From another room I heard some music, like I'd heard once before, but from one of the other girl's room, one who played the sitar. My curiosity got the better of me, and, figuring I had nothing to lose (since I didn't want to go back upstairs) I opened the door.

It was a beautifully-decorated room, red silk drapery hanging from the walls and ceilings, candles burning all around, though some had long since extinguished themselves, incense filling the air…

_What kind of sorority is this?_ I asked myself silently, wondering suddenly if this was what they meant in their motto by, "By diversity we unite, and with unity we transcend"? Like, transcend in the "higher plane" meaning? I wasn't too sure of anything that was going on, and really wondered what had gone on to make everything start to change like this. A thought of a scandalous, secret society passed through my mind, briefly, before I waved it away. _Lyris wouldn't do that. Nor would Jin. Or Erika. Or any of them._

But what really caught my attention was the bust of a beautiful woman seated on a pedestal centered on the far side of the room. As I approached her I noticed some odd similarities between her and me—silver hair, bright green eyes, enigmatic smile that said "I'll tell you when you can prove to me you're worth it"…

This frightened her more than she had ever been. _Is this…is this…why…they wanted me to join so badly, turning down so many other girls who were from Australia and Finland away? Because…I look like _her? Seated atop her head was a circle of sorts, a pendant of what looked like a gear to me (though I knew it probably wasn't; it was most likely a symbol of an ancient religion) hanging on her forehead from the gold band, my fingers tracing the edges of it, the symbol moving slightly in response to my touch. On the sides of her head, behind her ears, were two wing-like objects protruding from the circlet, looking like the object I had seen in the pictures from those kids but were of a slightly different shape and make. I ran my fingers over them too, memorizing every touch with my fingertips.

From above me came another crash. I winced, hoping that hadn't been the glass coffee table in the den. What really scared me was when I heard the creak of the door behind the racks, indicating that someone had found it.

…_Shit. I forgot to close the door!_ My mind screamed, ordering me to find somewhere to hide. But no matter where I looked there was nothing. Nothing…except the pile of pillows and blankets stacked in the corner. I dove under them, hoping that no one would find me, realizing when I heard the squeaking door to the room I was in that the tiara was in my hands—when had I taken it? Thoughts were racing through my head—I was scared, but why? I didn't have anything to be afraid of.

Oh, yes. The robots.

_They_ were what scared me. At least, the fact that I now knew that they had the power to actually destroy things, and I was certainly not willing to give up being a college student so soon, no matter how tempting it may have sounded.

"I know you're in here," I heard. It was _him_. Chase, had they said? Yes…Chase Young.

_Wait, how does he know I'm here?_ I realized I was holding my breath, though had no desire to let it go, my heart pounding in my chest when I knew that I had no idea what _he _could do to me—after all, in my dreams he had those scary shadow-creatures, and those scared me even though they were only a dream. I didn't want to think what they would be like in real life.

"You have five seconds to come out. I'm not playing with you this time. Five…"

_This time?!_

"Four…"

_What's that supposed to mean?_

"Three…"

_Does he…?_

"Two…"

_No…_

"One…"

"What're you playing at?" I yelled, throwing the pile of pillows and blankets off me. I clutched the crown in my right hand, patterns etched into the gold plating making marks in my skin from the pressure. "You've done enough damage to me in my dreams! What do you _want_ from me?" I was nearly shouting now, voice raising every word as my anger built, overriding my paranoia and fear. "Every time I ask you something you won't answer me! I'm giving you the chance now to tell me everything, or there'll be hell to pay!"

…_Where did _that_ come from?_ My mind asked in a sarcastic manner, silence suddenly filling the air between us. I suddenly realized how stupid my words had sounded, cheeks once again flushing, but this time in embarrassment. "I…" I began. But then they were there: the shadow-creatures—cats! They were cats! I hadn't seen them in my dreams clearly—but they were here, now, in reality, with me! And they were_ scary_. I had vowed to never run from them if I ever met them but they were truly terrifying, yellow eyes akin to Chase's glowing in the dimly lit room, my fear-filled eyes reflecting in theirs. Again I tried to speak but my voice caught, choking me as my mouth struggle to form words against the will of my tongue.

"I've found you. You know, you gave me a lot of trouble. It could have been much easier. No, it _should_ have been easier." He was suddenly smirking—flashing back to the dreams I remembered that: I didn't want that to happen. I didn't want anything to happen. I wanted to be back in my dorm—back with Kensie, back with my _normal_ life. Suddenly, I had no desire to dream again, wishing I had never stepped outside that morning to visit my friends, wishing I had my life back again. I was caught against the wall, surrounded by the cats, all glaring at me hungrily, waiting for their orders.

_Am I going to die?_ I suddenly thought, images flashing before my sight, all too fast for me to comprehend clearly. A tear slipped from my eye, causing Chase's eyes to narrow. My own eyes suddenly flew down to the item I still held, remembering what the others had said earlier about it. Maybe…it was the same. Maybe it could help me. Maybe…it would help me live. I lifted the circlet to my head, time suddenly slowing, Chase's expression changing from that of ultimate victory to a look of surprise. He hadn't noticed it—as I slipped it on I smiled, hoping some good would come out of my fantastical whim.

Instead, everything disappeared in a flash of white, the room vanishing as I was thrown into a world not my own—not even the world in my dreams was like this.

"Where…am I?" I whispered, my low voice echoing through the limitless room. I looked around, wondering if this was Chase's doing, but the voice I heard was not his.

"You are…between worlds."

My eyebrow was raised again in skepticism. "Between worlds?" I repeated.

"Yes…you are…the Timedancer…the Link…"

I didn't say anything.

"The Light to the Dark…"

Still, I was silent.

_Serenity. Awaken._

And everything was suddenly inverted—black.

* * *

So I'll get going in a few days for the next one…and I have fall break next week. :D YAY. I'll have time to write then. 


	4. Lapis

Notes: They keep messing up my schedule for work, and that in turn messes up my homework/free time schedule. I feel so antisocial. I never see my friends anymore. ):

Comments, reviews, criticisms good, but flames make me sad. ):

Icy

Again, title names are _not_ random and will be explained in the end.

* * *

_**Summary**_: "I can hear you." She's always dreamed of being something more, but when offered the chance to take part in adventure it's more than she can handle. The once-normal college student will be faced with choices she will find difficult to make, though will be able to find clues to her past along the way, leading her to the answers of who she was - and why the others know so much more than she does about herself. But when she is finally faced with the choice between the light and the dark (not good and evil, but the things themselves), how will she be able to choose? Or...is there a way to walk the path between, the path of the twilight? ChaseOC, rated for language.

* * *

DATE: 10-17-07

* * *

**CHAPTER FOUR: Lapis**

* * *

_Even though the dream hurts me I don't change anything..._

_I opened a new door..._

_I continue into the expanding world..._

_I could embrace this body until it hurts..._

_I could hurt myself..._

_In order to become just a little bit stronger..._

_I just... keep walking on the endlessly continuing road..._

_Awaken._

* * *

"Getthe_fuck_outofmyhead!" I yelled, wishing he would leave me alone as I bolted upright, fully expecting my head to be greeted again by the hard ceiling above my bed. When nothing made contact, I slowly opened my eyes, though couldn't see anything since my glasses were off. But…I wasn't in my dorm. I was…I actually didn't know where I was then. But I needed my glasses. I reached my hand out and found I was actually lying on a rather thin mat under a blanket, another over me, and as I made contact with the stone floor I drew back; it was cold. Very cold. 

"God, where am I?" I muttered to myself, hoping I could find my glasses so I could see. I finally found the thin frames, surprised no one had stepped on them where they had been placed, and they weren't even scratched. I slid them on, suddenly realizing I had an audience.

"…Morning?" An awkward silence filled the air, though I think it was just me that thought it was awkward. I yawned, covering my mouth with my hand.

"It's actually pretty late in the evening."

_Great._

It was those kids.

"Fine, fine; it doesn't matter what time it is. Can you tell me why I'm here, though?" Why did my sarcasm always have to intervene whenever I talked to strangers?

"Well…"

"It's a long story…"

"I've got nothing but time." I crossed my arms, resting them against my knees pulled to my chest.

"Why don't you join us for dinner?"

I opened my mouth to decline, but found my stomach protesting…rather loudly. I blushed, sighing and standing up to accept their invitation.

Over the rather simple but large dinner I discovered that I had been asleep for a day. Sleep—yes, not unconscious: there is a difference, and I had been asleep.

"The house!" I exclaimed, suddenly remembering that the last time I'd been there the door was torn off its hinges, shattered along with the glass door. I groaned. "They're going to kill me…and probably never let me stay there again!"

"Uh…yeah. About that."

The place had been completely destroyed.

Except the basement.

When the others had found me I was alone—he'd left me, though I couldn't figure out why, since he'd been so intent on finding me in the first place. Suddenly feeling overwhelmed I put my fork down, standing up and walking outside, though the others didn't really seem to care—I didn't even know who they were, and yet…I had the feeling I'd probably end up knowing them more than I knew Kensie back home.

_Home...Iara's probably mad right now…and Lyris is trying to calm her down…_ I smiled, imagining the chaos that was probably happening then. It soon disappeared when I remembered that I didn't even know where I was, or when I'd be going home.

Outside, I looked up at the sky, seeing the stars lighting up the midnight-blue sky tinged with orange, wondering where I was to see the stars so clearly, compared to the city where virtually no stars were visible at night. And the moon—it was a harvest moon, large, full, orange-tinted in the blue sky. It was gorgeous. At least, to me it was.

The low roofs were tempting—so tempting for me to go climb up like I did when I was younger, when my family all lived in the same area with my cousins and aunts and uncles…back when I was free of everything, my dreams of my own will.

I sighed, giving in and finding a low stone wall to boost myself up on, carefully climbing across the shingled surface, coming to a rest on the edge of the building I was on. I sat down, knees pulled in, legs slightly straddling the middle of the roof. I looked back up at the moon in wonder, wishing I could be looking at it from the dorms instead of…wherever I was.

"I do not think that is such a good idea," came a voice from below. I glanced downward, seeing it was the short, bald kid from earlier, the one that stood out the most. Not that any of them could have blended the way they looked now, in those robes…

"What's not such a good idea?" I said, voice snapping slightly.

"If Master Fung sees you on the roof, he will most likely make you do chores."

_Are you kidding me?_ "Look, kid, I don't even know where I am, and I never even _asked_ to be brought here." I didn't mean to sound so sarcastic and rude, but I was pretty frustrated at that time; I had so many questions and wasn't getting any answers. I folded my arms across my chest, daring him to elude my question again.

The boy was silent a moment, thinking, before he spoke again. "Why do you not come down from there and we can all talk about what has happened?" I sighed, knowing I had little choice, since they _were_ offering their hospitality and all. I slid down on the shingles toward the edge, my ankles and knees taking the brunt of the force as I hit the rather solid earth beneath me, causing me to stumble backward a bit.

"We never got a chance to introduce ourselves. I'm Kimiko." The Asian girl was the first to introduce herself, placing a hand on her chest (with rather well-manicured nails for living in such a…rural area, if I may add), smiling. Her black hair was pulled back in pigtails that bounced when she walked.

"I'm Clay." The southern boy was the tallest of the four, shaggy blonde hair covering his eyes and a large cowboy hat atop that hair. He had a kind face, which I hoped meant he had a kind personality too.

"Raimundo."

"You can call him Rai."

"Kimiko…!"

Raimundo—or Rai, whichever—was Brazilian, and I recognized that immediately. His features were almost exactly like Iara's, and I almost wondered if there was any relation between them.

"And I am Omi." The little short kid—he looked more at home than the others did—was the last to introduce himself, smiling slightly at me.

I nodded, smiling as well. "I'm Ren."

"Ren?"

"My real name's Serenity, but I don't really like it." I rolled my eyes. "My mom had an affinity for weird names. My brothers all got normal names."

"No sisters?" Kimiko asked. "Wow, that must've been rough. How many?"

"Four." I ticked their names off on my fingers. "Josh, Ty, Sean, and Aiden." I was cut off, however, by the same dragon I had seen in the park on campus.

"So we lost the Diadem. There's a new Wu out, though, so we'd better get on it before they do!" He was carrying the large scroll from before, opening it up to a new section. "The Jinx Rave. It emits pulsing lights that can drain your opponent's energy." The little animation showed the man from before holding a fan that was pulsing lights, the beams eventually swirling around a creature that began to slow, eventually falling to the ground, allowing the man to strike and land a killing blow. I stared at it in disinterest, unsure of what I should be doing.

"You want to come with us?"

I shrugged. "Sure." _What've you got to lose?_

* * *

Shivering, I pulled my sweatshirt tighter about me, glad I had thought a little ahead. Up in the clouds—it's not so warm. Nor are the clouds as fluffy and solid as you think they'd be. 

"How much farther?" I asked. We weren't going very far, but the fact that most people would find a large, green dragon flying in the sky unusual made it a wise idea to keep in the clouds.

"Not too much more. The signal's getting stronger." He slowed in the air, looking around. "…This way." We were suddenly falling—falling from the sky. He'd done a nosedive, aiming right toward the ground.

_This isn't at all scary_, I said to myself, clutching at the large dragon's back, wondering how I could be so sarcastic at a time like this. _I'd almost rather be back facing those cats from before_.

He suddenly pulled up, feet above the ground. When he'd landed, I slid off, my legs shaking from fear. I wobbled over to the palm tree that I saw nearby, steadying myself as I suddenly realized we were near an oasis in the middle of a desert. I glanced around with a skeptical look on my face, wondering where we were, exactly. There was little movement on the water's surface, the cool, blue liquid pool tranquil in the midst of a burning desert. At the bottom of this rather shallow pool I could see something shimmering, glowing, almost, in the hot sun, reflecting off a metal surface submerged in the clear water. I waded in to my ankles, reaching out. "Hey, is this…?" I began, noticing it had a distinct, fan-shaped look to it. Taking a hold of it, another hand also touched it, the object beginning to glow as my heart flew to my throat, afraid. I looked up, suddenly finding myself staring into Chase Young's golden eyes. I quickly looked away, toward the others, wondering why I couldn't draw my hand away from the fan, eyes filled with a look of confusion and fear.

"You haven't told her yet?" he smirked. Though I wasn't looking at him I could tell that he was amused, and found this very funny.

"Ren, you're going to have to fight a showdown with him," Raimundo said, mind racing. "You both touched the Wu at the same time and have to fight to see who gets it."

"What about _her_ Shen Gong Wu? We need to give her one!" Kimiko said, panicking slightly. She pulled out her own item, a small comb, and was ready to toss it to me.

"No. I have nothing, and neither will she."

It was me who was panicking now. "I have to do this alone?" I said, voice cracking slightly.

Chase nodded, smirk still fixed on his face. "You want to call it? Or do you want me to?"

…_What _is _he talking about?_ my mind asked. My silence to him was taken as an answer, that latter.

"Fine. I'll make it simple."

Before he had even finished his sentence the whole area around us began changing—the oasis disappeared, a large pool of water surging up below us as the fan was pulled by an unseen force up to a tall pillar of ice affixed in the center of the still-rising waters. I found myself on a rather flat surface on one side of the pool, Chase staring intently at me from just a few yards away.

"First one to the fan is the winner." With these words, the water suddenly froze, ice skates appearing on both my feet and Chase's. "It's a race to the finish. You have to get across the ice while avoiding the cracks—" said cracks appeared on the surface of the ice "—while avoiding anything else that may spring up." He pointed to the fan, a large red ribbon strung across the valley where the frozen water was.

_Like what?_ I whispered in my head, worrying suddenly of what might happen.

"Ren! You have to say, 'Gong Yi Tanpai' to start the showdown!" came Kimiko's shout from behind me. The others had found themselves on a cliff above us, watching.

I shivered slightly in the cool air and nodded. I opened my mouth, uttering the words at precisely the time that Chase did, voices echoing across the ice as we both stepped out on the slick surface at once, heading in the same direction.

_You don't like skating on smooth ice!_ It was true…I preferred the kind that had been skated on a bit before, which was why I hated skating first. I took a breath: _You can still make it. Just…don't screw up._

In front of me, there was suddenly a hole in the ice, revealing the icy waters below, a creature of some sort popping up and growling at me. My eyes widened as I realized I couldn't go around it; I'd have to go over.

_Please let this be the one time I stick it—_

I jumped, begging my body to spin as I pulled my legs up, feeling my blades hit my thighs as I rose in the air, time seeming to slow to a crawl as I leapt over the creature, landing solidly on the ice past it. _Yes!_ I shouted in my head, grinning. I heard cheers from the cliff, as well as surprised, "I didn't know she could skate" comments. I looked toward Chase, who was keeping up with me. Or was I keeping up with him? Whatever it was, he was glaring at me now. I had the feeling he didn't know I skated some, and was regretting choosing this kind of battle for us.

He began speeding up, my hopes fading as I realized I wasn't part of this world, and didn't have the abilities I knew all the others had. I felt tears rush to my eyes, my sensitive emotions suddenly confirming my fears that I would lose. A flash of light behind me suddenly made me think otherwise, though when I turned I saw nothing, and turning back I saw another break in the ice, this one larger. I managed to clear that one as well, though wondered why there was nothing in that one too. _I'm not complaining_. When the bright red ribbon came in sight again I saw no sign of Chase—where had he gone? I shrugged, skating as fast as I could toward the pillar of ice. When I crossed the line, though, nothing happened—the fan remained at the top of the pillar. I groaned. _What now?_

Looking up at the fan I tapped my toepick into the ice impatiently, wondering if they expected me to climb up it. I estimated the distance between the ground and the top of the pillar, thinking it wouldn't be too hard. I dug my toepick into the pillar, remembering the last time I'd done this was for a dare in Connecticut, with my cousins, and I'd almost broken a leg. I swallowed, not wanting to remember that. Reaching out for some kind of hand hold I felt the ice melt slightly beneath my touch, allowing me to grip the ice a bit. I climbed the pillar slowly, wondering why Chase hadn't caught up by then. He shouldn't have been too far behind, and from my dreams it was evident he had skills in other areas besides this. When I finally reached the top I was very much out of breath, wishing I had drank more that morning, suddenly dehydrated and exhausted. Reaching out, my hand brushed the handle of the fan before everything disappeared in a flash and returned to normal.

The oasis was back, and I was sitting against the palm tree with the fan in my grip. The others were staring at me, Chase nowhere to be seen.

"What…happened?" I said, dazed slightly. "What happened to Chase back there?"

"You mean, what happened to you?" Kimiko said.

"Yeah, you guys started, you cleared that first jump, and Chase sped up. Then, _wham!_ You were gone!"

"Gone?" I repeated stupidly, knowing there was no other meaning of the word. "But…what? Why?"

"I have the feeling it has something to do with _this_," Dojo said, climbing up my shoulder and tapping my head, though instead of touching my skin his claws met metal. I reached up and felt what he was talking about—it was the…Diadem?_ I think._

"I thought that we lost that one to Chase," Omi remarked, staring at me with concern and interest.

"Apparently not." Now everyone was staring at me, and I still had no idea what was going on.

"What…" I began, my voice faltering. I felt the tears come back. "Can't…can't you guys just tell me what's going on?" I tried not to let my emotions get the best of me but it was hard—I barely knew any of them, and I had been unwillingly forced into…what was it? A…showdown? I shut my eyes against the setting sun's light, wishing once more to be back home.

"If you wish to leave them you only need speak the words." I leaned my head against the tree's trunk, frustrated. He was back—where had he gone in the first place?

"So this is the girl?" My ears were alerted to the sound of a new voice, a woman's, and she seemed interested in me. _Why?_

"They aren't giving you any answers. Come with me and I'll tell you everything." His voice was directed back at me.

Omi's eyes narrowed. "What are you trying to do now?"

"Take back what's mine."

I had shut my eyes for a moment to collect my thoughts but they flew open again at his words. "I…_what?_" I cried, pushing myself up and whirling to face him. "Yours?" I stared at him in disbelief.

When our eyes met, he was smirking, though I broke contact almost immediately and looked away, past him into the sunset.

"Serenity and I go back a long way."

PSATs suck. D:


	5. Fragrance

Notes: Made it through the PSAT but it was so boring. D: Thanks to my reviewers so far—xxFireWarriorxx, HyperHarryPotterGoddesses, and Halogirl3000—for keeping my morale level high to keep writing at such a fast pace considering my procrastination in the past. Wow, two chapters in one day? That's...an accomplishment for me.

Yes, I know this chapter is _extremely _short, but I'll make it up to you...but this is more a "filler" of sorts for the next chapter since I wanted a kind of cliffhanger from the last one.

Icy

PS. I have a drawing of Ren in my profile—linked to a DA account. It is under the section "links" so be sure to look if you're curious.

* * *

**DATE:** 10-17-07

* * *

**CHAPTER FIVE: Fragrance**

* * *

_I can't even figure out where I'm headed_

_Fading memory is slowly drawn_

_Towards the wind by a slender thread_

_"What in the world_

_was I born to do..."_

_Even now, the answer has yet to come_

_Please let me hear_

_The voice..._

_Please show me_

_The dream..._

_Please teach me_

_The truth..._

_Please tell me_

_The crime..._

_As my hidden self is_

_Wet with red tears..._

_I can't remember anything_

_Not even the name of the past_

_I can't do anything anymore._

* * *

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, gripping the handle of the fan I still held from my victory. "'Go back'?" 

He returned my question with only his smirk.

_Hypocrite. He said they aren't answering my questions but neither is he._

Silence.

I could feel the patterns engraving themselves on my skin from the pressure due to my still-tightening grip. Finally, I relaxed, somehow realizing there was only one way to get my answers. I sighed. "Please…let me hear the voice."

"That's what I wanted to hear."

The others stared at us in confusion. Of course, I knew as much as they did at that point. The "voice"? No idea. I stood there, staring past Chase while looking directly at him (indirectly, rather), wishing I had never said anything—and wondering where those words had come from.

_Where…?_

"Please show me the dream." Chase continued, responding with a phrase like mine that reverberated in my mind—bringing back pieces of something—why, I did not know.

My mouth formed words unwillingly again, instructed by something throbbing deep within my mind that wanted so badly to break free. "Please teach me the truth."

"Please tell me the crime."

"As my hidden self is wet with red tears, I can't remember anything. Not even the names of my past." I swallowed, my own words scaring me. "I can't do anything anymore," I finished, my voice a whisper.

All the colors inverted again—this time to red. Back again—then purple. I shut my eyes, hoping it would pass, but the dizziness came too—I swayed where I stood, clutching my head, fingers brushing the diadem still perched atop my head.

"_If I can't be forgiven, then everything can disappear."_

"_I keep waiting for you though the hands of my watch have stopped."_

"_Still…I can't let go…so…hold me tight."_

"_Still…you can't change…so…close your eyes."_

"_I believed we'd always be together, unchanging."_

Scenes of various locations and times began flashing before my eyes—me…and Chase…but…_when_? When could this have happened? I was a college student; I had a life…I had…

"_Sou sa…that's right. This rain will someday cease, won't it?"_

"_You're searching for warmth that you have forgotten so long ago."_

"_There's…no going back."_

"_Who…can stop me?"_

"_I have decided not to go back, because that is the promise that we made that day."_

"_I want to be able to tell you that I surpassed you."_

"_Just make sure you never forget this sadness."_

"_If I can't go back again…please break my memory into pieces."_

"_Inside of the dream…inside of the memory, we'll definitely meet again."_

"What does Chase mean by this?" Omi asked.

I had come back some time but hadn't fully returned—still half-caught in the dreams like I was awake but not…listening but at the same time completely oblivious to those around me. I looked over at the four who continued to stare at me. "I'm…sorry?"

"All of this—what's going on?" Kimiko asked, folding her arms across her chest. I looked at her, wishing I knew but didn't, and regretted not being able to share whatever it was that was plaguing my mind.

"I'm sorry. I don't know." I looked away.

"You can tell us, Ren," Raimundo said, hoping that he could get something out of me. I shook my head.

"No_. I don't know_."

"You don't have to keep secrets from us." Now Clay was getting involved. I found myself gripping the fan's handle tightly again, frustration rising once more.

"I said, I didn't know!" I cried, voice rising with my anger. I noticed a breeze pick up around me—swirling around the oasis lightly. "What don't you understand about that?"

"We want to help you," Kimiko said, eyes pleading for me to tell them.

Lights suddenly flashed in front of my eyes. Colors swirled in my vision, just like the inversions but all at once—dancing, fading in and out, surrounding me.

_What's going on?!_

"Serenity. You are not alone. _I can hear you_."

The lights exploded in a multitude of radiance that filled the oasis and circled the waters once before shooting directly into my body, piercing my heart.

I couldn't scream.

I couldn't shout.

I couldn't move.

I was helpless.

What had I gotten myself into?

All the while, Chase—and that woman…who was she?—was smirking at me, waiting, as if he knew this was going to happen all along.

My face suddenly began burning, like it was on fire. But nothing was happening—I was so confused!—and couldn't figure anything out. It began peeling away—burned off by some unseen force, and I could feel my mind slipping away as a new consciousness took over.

_"Miss me?"_


	6. Nine Spiral

Notes: I've got fall break but it still sucks that I have an essay, an RP to plan (yes, for school), and a bunch of art homework. D:

_Icy_

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_**Summary**_: "I can hear you." She's always dreamed of being something more, but when offered the chance to take part in adventure it's more than she can handle. The once-normal college student will be faced with choices she will find difficult to make, though will be able to find clues to her past along the way, leading her to the answers of who she was - and why the others know so much more than she does about herself. But when she is finally faced with the choice between the light and the dark (not good and evil, but the things themselves), how will she be able to choose? Or...is there a way to walk the path between, the path of the twilight? ChaseOC, rated for language.

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**DATE:** 10-19-07

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**CHAPTER SIX: Nine Spiral**

_The thing that appeared in front of my eyes vanished_

_The voice that cut my dreams to pieces_

_In this worlds that's full of lies_

_Tease me…Break me…_

_If you notice a person's an imitation_

_Pull my strings…Make me live…_

_That voice that can be heard distantly_

_Beat me…Stop me…_

_Violate me…_

_Lie…you who ripped up my chest_

_Robbed me of my voice_

_Hate me…Pity me…_

_Tease me…Break me…_

_Leave everything behind_

_Lie…gently rip me up_

_Softly embrace me_

_Pl-e-a-se…save me_

* * *

_It's...been a long time, hasn't it?_ I stretched my arms over my head, very much happy to return to my own self. But…where was I? I looked around—who were these kids that were staring at me with such…confusion? Fear? I couldn't tell what they were thinking, but— 

_Chase!_ My eyes widened. "Chase…" I began, voice cracking slightly. I hadn't expected _him_ to be here. Wherever "here" was. "W—what are you doing here?"

"What's wrong with her?" asked the Asian girl in the group, the only female of the four. "Ren, are you okay?"

"Do I know you?" I asked, turning my attention to them. "Chase…I'm sorry, but just tell me what's going on. Last time I checked I was in Ireland."

"You did this to yourself."

I was silent. "But…how could I have made one that made me forget everything? And…how come I don't remember anything happening?"

"Your fault."

"Either give me answers or don't talk at all," I snapped. Turning back to the kids, I could feel their confusion rising. "Okay, spill it. Who_ are _you?"

"Ren, it's us." _Brazilian? I think…_ "Did you…hit your head or something?"

"No." Now_ I_ was the one who was confused. What _was_ going on?

"It's her powers."

"Chase, this is all your fault!"

"_How_is it my fault?"

"You did something to her!"

"No, I didn't. This is all her doing."

"How can you lie to us like that?"

"I'm not."

As I listened to Chase argue with the kids I felt my anger rising once more. _Sometimes it really sucks to have a temper like mine._

"_STOP,"_I screamed, shutting my eyes as I felt something inside me explode. When I finally felt like I had calmed down I opened them again—but nothing was moving. Not even the water. I smiled. Looks like everything was still working as it should, though the colors were fading. If I didn't start it again the colors would fade entirely and I would be lost in a nightmare of black. I walked over to the arguing group and snapped my fingers, everything beginning to move again.

"How'd you do that?"

"Do what?" I asked, smiling.

"You were over there one minute, then over here the next!"

"You mean you didn't notice it in the showdown?" Chase said, crossing his arms across his chest, that ever-present smirk on his face that I knew so well.

"I did a showdown?" I asked, confused. I looked down, noticing I was holding a fan. "Oh. So what else did I do that I don't remember?"

"A lot of things. You were in college again."

I shuddered. "Why would I subject myself to that voluntarily? Again!"

"What are you talking about?"

They would never stop talking, would they? I sighed, turning to them. "Look, it's a long story."

"We've got nothing but time."

"Good. This goes back a very long time…"

* * *

I stepped out of the portal, ready for anything. Having escaped one enemy I was afraid of finding another one. And I hadn't been so careful about choosing where I was gong, recently. Finding myself in places I had unintentionally taken myself to I was determined to concentrate for once, though found it hard with wolves on my tail that I couldn't shake—and my powers wouldn't work! Half the worlds I went to I found little energy for my powers, only enough for me to leave.

"Are you the Timedancer?" came a voice from behind me. I whirled around, readying my bow for anything. Instead, I found myself staring into the eyes of a man who had no weapons, looking more like he wanted to talk or something rather than fight. I lowered my bow slightly, though knew I could not drop my guard no matter what happened.

"Yes, I am. Why do you ask?" I replied, voice resonating in the woods that surrounded us.

"You need my help as much as I need yours."

I did not reply, unsure of what I should say, if anything.

"You are the one who is the key to my victory, and I can show you how to unlock your other powers. It's a win-win situation." His expression remained stony, like he was unwilling to show any emotion.

Still, I did not say anything, thinking about any possible consequences. Finally, I made up my mind. "If you do need my help, then you will state why. And you will tell me your name."

"I am Chase Young."

My eyes widened briefly before I could regain control. _Chase…Young? The cursed immortal? I…I thought I was the only one, that he was only a legend._

"And you are…?" he asked. So he knew _of_ me but didn't _know_ me at all.

"I am Serenity, Timedancer and the Peacekeeper of the World Between Worlds."

"Serenity," he repeated, my name rolling off his tongue easily. I nodded.

"I only fight when necessary, defending myself while keeping the peace."

"I see."

Bushes rustled behind me, startling me slightly, but I did not turn. I did not want to show any weaknesses to this…person.

"Will you come with me, then?" he asked, motioning toward a large mountain where I could see an entrance to the place I assumed he lived. I started forward, suddenly sinking into the ground, a swirl of shadows surrounding my feet. I began struggling, dropping my bow in shock and surprise as I looked up at Chase, his golden eyes glowing in the dark woods, watching me sink and not doing a thing. He suddenly smirked, my eyes widening in fear. I had never been in this kind of situation before—never, in any of my travels…

"Welcome to _my_ world, Serenity."

I was swallowed by the shadows, dropping down into oblivion, finally falling onto a stone floor, legs absorbing much of the shock, leaving me in pain. I fell backward, landing on the floor and resting against a stone wall. That was when I realized I was in an enclosed room, the only door solidly shut, and didn't seem like it'd open for me. I groaned. This just wasn't my day, was it? Wait—couldn't I just use my powers…? I closed my eyes, willing a portal to open to the World Between Worlds.

Nothing.

I sighed. _Another one I can't use my powers on_. My eyes flew open when I realized I didn't have my bow, either. I couldn't defend myself if I had to—

There came a creaking from above me. I quickly stood up, turning to see what it was. I gulped when I saw what it was: chains. _What kind of place is this?_

"Those aren't for you." I spun back to find Chase closing the door, and I hadn't heard him enter in the first place.

"What do you want?" I asked, suddenly afraid again.

"Your powers."

"Why?"

"I think they can solve my own problems."

"Your problems?"

I was suddenly facing a large, lizard-like creature—it was Chase's true form, as I'd heard from others from other worlds. I gave a gasp, quietly so he wouldn't hear, realizing he was more terrifying in person. "But what is your problem, then? You're immortal—"

"At the price of my humanity," he said, reverting to his human self. "I'm cursed. You're immortal, too, are you not? Tell me—how can you survive without a curse of any sort?"

I racked my mind for the answer—even I did not know. "I do not know," I said. "I'm sorry."

"Yes, you do!" I found myself pinned against the wall, neck clutched by his strong grip. I felt tears well up in my eyes.

"I don't! I just live! I don't even know where I came from," I protested, feeling the air leaving my lungs quickly, unable to draw more in.

His grip loosened slightly as he let me drop, allowing me to sigh in relief and breath again. "I don't believe you." I looked back up in fear. "I'll find out—one way or another."

Staring at him with fearful eyes I watched him exit, leaving me alone. I began to cry—this wasn't what I was supposed to be doing. I needed to be back between worlds, holding the peace and preventing wars. I wasn't supposed to be locked up in a cell I had no idea when I'd be free from. He wanted my secret, and I didn't know how I'd give it to him. No matter how hard I protested, he would relentlessly ask questions of my immortality, and when I could give no answers he would show no mercy.

The days melted into night, the lack of windows the cause of my constant confusion of the time of day. Was it day or night? I could not tell. All I knew was pain. I had come to know it very well…and it seemed like an eternity before it stopped, but would soon start again when he returned. I could shut my eyes against the pain, but my mind knew it was there. No matter how hard I tried to shut it out it remained, and I could not fight it.

Hands bound above my head I was helpless—helpless to everything and completely powerless. I was unable to do anything but protest, pleading I knew nothing. But he would not listen.

I had been in the cell for…days…weeks…months? I had lost track of time long ago, and was starting to wonder if he'd ever give up. The pain erased all thoughts from my mind, permeating every inch of my body in hopes of taking over completely. I couldn't think…I couldn't breathe…

In the end he would always leave me lying in my own blood, silent, voice having left me long ago as I lay there looking up, wondering if there was ever an end to this torment and pain, wondering when I would be free.

And what of the other worlds…where were they while I was gone? I was afraid they were in the midst of wars, defenses crumbling in my absence. I blamed myself, tears rising to my eyes—but why was I caring about peace of the worlds more than the fact that I was in more pain then I had ever been? What had caused me to change? Rather, not to?

Closing my eyes, I fell into a sleep that trapped me for days—even when he returned I would refuse to open them for anything. I was slipping away—powers slowly draining from my now-dying body. Only when he realized that I had limits to my immortality did he finally let me free—but only on the condition I was to return or when he found me again—and he _would_ find me—he would most certainly kill me.

I ran, enjoying my freedom, before I found myself negotiating treaties in a city where I felt a familiar presence—his. In the dead of night, when everyone had been sleeping, he captured me again.

The pain this time was worse—and I hadn't thought it could go farther than before. I now realized it had been stupid of me to not return, and regretted it greatly. Time after time I begged for forgiveness, begging for pity—anything to save me from the pain. But he was again merciless, watching me beg and then refusing. Again and again this cycle continued, and I was never free.

Once, though, when I was sitting in the room, waiting—anticipating—for his arrival again, I found myself playing with what little bit of my powers I still retained. Not enough to heal, but to play with, keep myself sane, at the least. I traced a figure in the air, drawing forms inside it—and it solidified in the air. I blinked, wondering if it was an illusion, or hallucination. When I touched it, it was very much solid. I turned it over—a mask, marked by a butterfly and the words _Help me_ written on the edge, written in blood. It made me think—what powers could a _mask_ possibly have? I raised it up to my face, Chase entering just as the hard metal—_A metal mask?—_touched my skin. I felt a burning sensation erase all thoughts from my mind—all memories—before everything went black.

* * *

"Next thing I know, I'm in a desert with a bunch of people I don't know…and Chase," I finished. Though my story hadn't taken long to explain I saw my audience had been lost somewhere in the middle. I sighed. "Basically, I don't remember anything that has happened since then." I glanced over toward Chase, who had been staring at me the whole time. "How long ago _was_ that?"

"Considering your mask took you forward in time and I haven't seen you in, oh, two hundred years, I'd say it's been a pretty long time."

I gaped at him. "I…two…hundred years?"

"Wait, so you're saying she can time-travel?" It was the Brazilian boy who spoke.

"And through worlds."

"So you're the peacekeeper of the worlds, or something, then?" the Asian girl asked. "Why haven't we been like, invaded or something? If those kinds of worlds really existed then we would be in trouble now, right?"

I shook my head, sighing. "Just because worlds exist and there are wars doesn't mean every world has to be at war with another. You are lucky, though should know already that these artifacts—the Shen Gong Wu—exist only because of magic from another world."

"So, you are telling us that they are not only from our world?" Now the short, bald kid was talking. _Where do they find these kids?_

"That's what I just said." I began walking away, fully intending to leave and return to my duties as peacekeeper and Timedancer. But, of course, Chase had to stop me.

"You never gave me your secret, Serenity. You still owe me. You are bound by our promise."

"What promise?" The Asian girl was starting to get on my nerves—slightly.

"The one she never mentioned in her story."

I groaned. How could I have forgotten? "Please, Chase, just…stop."

"You can't forget the fact that I really do own you," he said, still smirking.

My eyes flashed, turning toward him. "I said, stop!"

"Your powers are weakening from being in this world. You cannot stop time again until you leave, and you cannot. You are trapped here by the promise."

"You and your stupid promise," I muttered, clenching my teeth.

"Our promise is the kind that is never-ending, the unbreakable kind."

"One you forced me into!"

"Would you have rather kept going?"

I was silent.

"That's a no." He looked toward the kids. "You remember what we said earlier, don't you? 'Please show me the voice'?" They nodded, exchanging a look. "There are certain words that trigger a call-and-response-type series of words that bind her to me. For example—" he turned to me again "—Even if the world falls to ruins."

I swallowed, words rising in my throat as I was helpless to protest. "I'll surely meet you again…someday, until the day I come across you again."

"If it's a dream, then don't wake up."

"If you turn toward the sky…'hold me tight.'" _Where…why is he doing this to me? I know our promise…but why does he want everyone to know?_

"We fear predictions made long ago."

"We exist far above the sky, and all material things."

"Burned by the sun—break my body."

"Pain and separation—kill time."

"Yearning for the sun—entrust my body."

"Embraced by loneliness—kill time."

By this point I was close to tears again, wishing he would stop, my voice cracking and dropping in volume.

"And the last…"

The one I dreaded most. The one that sealed the promise, and bound me to him.

"Only the seduction of the requiem that started being whispered into my ear curbed me from wounding others."

"My…pain is taken away by the darkness…because…I can't return," I finished, voice barely above a whisper, shaking as tears finally fell from my eyes. I wasn't this kind of person—I needed to be between the worlds and tending to problems. I wasn't meant for this—not for any promises binding me to another world not my own.

"But what does it mean?" the short kid said.

"If you had been listening you would know that these words are significant in the binding itself." When he spoke, a thread—purple and black intertwined—extended from both my body and Chase's, connected. I looked away, not wanting to see it again. It soon faded, though the image remained imprinted in my mind.

"I told you once, and I'll say it again," I said, voice shaking. "I cannot give you my secret."

"Oh, that's fine, Serenity. We've got an eternity to talk about it." He glared cruelly at me, reminding me of the pain and what was to come. "I'm sure we'll come to an agreement someday. Until then—" He snapped his fingers, and when I opened my eyes again we were in the woods where I had met him the first time. I looked up to the mountain where he had lived when I had arrived here.

"You've redecorated," I said lightly, trying to break the silence.

"It's been over two hundred years. Times change." He began walking briskly toward it, my own feet forcing me to follow, pulled along by that invisible thread between us.


End file.
